Apple will be releasing new versions of their pro line (which could be why people are seeing deals right now), and it would be worth seeing what they have to offer. Even if you decide on the Air, wait a few weeks.

It would be mainly for viewing and editing photos in Aperture and Nik....and surfing the web.

It sounds like what you want is a big (bigger than your camera) screen to review photos in the field, ( maybe a bit of touch-up, but nothing major)

A MBA would be enough to do this, though I wouldn't trust it to do much more. My wife just got one (the newest version), and I have been playing around with it. The battery in it would it a great companion in the field, and the speed of the solid state drive would make viewing photos.

If you can afford upgrading components, I would do it in this order:

RAM - (get 8, as I find 4 is enough for some word processing and web surfing, but not much more )ProcessorHard drive (the 128 gig hard drive is small, but the 256 wouldn't be much better, in the grand scheme of things, so unless you can afford the 512, you'd be better off getting a decent usb 3.0 or thunderbolt drive if you need more space)

I use an older MBP (2011) for work, and when I put it in my bag along with my camera, it's the heaviest piece of gear on my back. Even though the newer ones are lighter, unless you want a "portable desktop" (ie something to do hard core Ps work on) I'd still stick with the air.

I personally don't like the apple ecosystem, and I've always had a thinkpad bias. Lenovo will be releasing a few new models soon (I think) that look to be interesting competitors. They will have better processing capability than the MBA at similar price points, and they claim to have great battery too. Going to their online shop is like opening pandora's box, though, so you might not want to.

For viewing and editing photos, I'd definitely go for a retina MBP if you can afford it (in terms of price, size, weight). Simply put, the screen matters for your use case. A LOT.

The most consistently worst part about Apple laptops for me has been the screen. Glass multitouch trackpads rocketed Apple to the best in the biz, the move to x86 nixed the PPCs that just couldn't keep up, but until the rMBP the screens have been horrible. Sure the review sites would tell you that for TN panels, the gamut, color accuracy, and contrast were decent, but as we know specs aren't the whole picture. TN panels have horrible color saturation shifts at different vertical viewing angles. The IPS panel of the rMBP fixes that. Now you have desktop-level resolution, and desktop level color consistency across viewing angles. Now you have a laptop that you can edit photos on without having everything wash out because you sat up in your seat a few inches. (And if you fly coach, you can now sit in a cramped seat and look down onto the screen with much better color saturation.)

But as others have said, wait 'til the end of the month, when Apple is expected to announce the next-gen, Haswell-bearing, rMBPs. That also gives you another month to save up for it!

I have the 13" MBAir for tethered shooting and in the field. It is fantastic. the SSD is smokin fast and acts as massive amounts ram. in fact, it is faster in many aspects than my 8-core mac-pro with 32gb ram. its way cheaper than a MBP and way lighter. if it was your only machine, well maybe I would go for a 15"mbp but if it isnt your main computer, absolutely MBAir is the clear choice.

The surface 2 pro has the above but will run lr ps if needed. Has the options of up to 8gb ram and 512gb internal storage.

So those are better for in the field then an ipad.

I've had a look at the original Surface, I wasn't terribly impressed. I looked at in the Microsoft Store in a local mall, where I was one of four customers in the store (we were outnumbered by employees 2:1, and none of us bought anything). Four stores down is the Apple Store, where somewhere between 80-100 customers were filling the space, with at least 25% of people walking out the door with a new purchase). The dichotomy was not a unique occurrence - it's that way every time I happen to be at the mall.

Yeah the microsoft store is not like the apple store but thats like comparing bestbuy and office depot on a saturday. Microsoft still has a much larger user base and the appeal is enterprise first consumer second so yeah apple will be busier and microsoft can be had at walmart so the consumer is spread out more.

Anyway the value of the surface 2 or pro if you want to run programs is this tablet has a 2k point pressure stylus, 1080p full rgb screen with more antireflection. Backlit type covers and a docking station for home if need be. I own iphone 5s, ipad 4, mbp retina 15 but still think the surface answers the need here. $449 is great for review, edit, backup. Ipad does not offer that. Macbook air costs more.

Whatever you're comfortable with - the choice is basically how you want to control your images. If you already have a desktop to pair with the air it's a viable solution since you'll probably do the real work on the desktop. Ifyou expect the machine to be "all purpose", get the Macbook Pro - max out the memory, get the largest hard driveand a bluetooth mouse and you'll be ready. If necessary, add an external drive for space and/or a large monitorso you can see what you're doing. Then have fun!

I tried the 13 MB Air for using Lightroom in the field. But I swapped it for the 15 MB Pro w. Retina. The weight premium is about 750 grams and I thought that would route me towards the MB Air, but the benefits of the much better screen outweights that. With the MB Pro I hardly ever re-edit any images when I get home to the bigger monitor, unless I know I didn't finish. The weight penalty is less than the weight of my RRS BH-55 ballhead.

latest 13 inch mac book pro w/ retina for $1500(8gb ram and 256 flash) and only weighs 1/2lb more than 13 inch mac air, and more power, better graphics and display and similar dimensions....yes, a "no brainer"....again....wow.

I took my ~ 2 year old MBA 13" on a road trip. I found that it was fine speed wise for LR5, great size and weight wise to carry, BUT- not enough screen real estate to work with. I also recommend that the retina screen is a must. Next time out, I'm taking my 15" MBP to try. My 2 C.

I took my ~ 2 year old MBA 13" on a road trip. I found that it was fine speed wise for LR5, great size and weight wise to carry, BUT- not enough screen real estate to work with. I also recommend that the retina screen is a must. Next time out, I'm taking my 15" MBP to try. My 2 C.

sek

One of my friends from Cupertino let me play with his new Retina MacBook Pro 15".

I bought the last macbook that had an optical drive. Being able to dump to a CD or DVD has helped me out a number of times, and the built in SD card reader is nice. Cuts down on all the wires and external nonsense I have to carry.

I was looking to pick up a Mac Air because I want something light and convenient for viewing and editing photos in the field...but then I noticed the Retina display on the MacBook Pro, the resolution is so much greater than the Air...and more power.

It would be mainly for viewing and editing photos in Aperture and Nik....and surfing the web.

Any thoughts from owners of either would be appreciated.

I run a 2012 MBP 15" retina as my main machine for editing and everything else. The display is absolutely incredible, although you may have to fiddle with it to suit you best. I don't run mine in "retina" mode but rather at a non-standard (per Apple Preferences) resolution of 1680 x 1050, which is perfect for me (it will go up to 2880 x 1800 which makes everything tiny but is "native" at 1440 x 900 with "doubled" pixels). I did have the "image retention" or "ghosting" problem with mine after 10 months, but Apple support replaced the LG display with a Samsung under warranty with minimal hassle and the problem has not returned. BUY APPLE CARE IF YOU GET A RETINA MBP. B&H resells Apple Care for much cheaper than Apple sells it for.

As far as user experience, I love the machine. It's a workhorse. At the same time, my wife has a MBA 13" and it is a wonderful machine in its own right. Really quick for all practical purposes, and the display is good. If I had a dedicated workstation at home and needed a portable machine for remote work, I'd definitely consider an MBA, but for a desktop replacement I'd stick with my retina MBP.